Applied to hundreds of jobs and getting nowhere? This is why.

There have been dozens of news articles in recent months about people applying for 'hundreds' of opportunities and the pain of the job hunt. It is really difficult out there, across all sectors, not just media. Applying for jobs is exhausting, boring and dispiriting.

Then you get the 'Dear Johns', like the one I had (pictured here) recently. Some people are getting these messages 4/5 times a day or more. The feeling of rejection as a result adds further weight to the mental strain of the process.

A lot of the news coverage has a repeated quote that is most common from graduates (and others). The feedback they get (if they get any) after an interview rejection is often that the company went with 'somone with more experience'.

Now if you're a graduate and you need more experience, what does that mean? It's confusing. They are hiring a graduate, so why do you need 'experience'. That's because a qualification, a degree, is just one small part of the process of entering the industry. You need to show you can really do it.

As a media graduate you should already have lots of experience, from your course and projects you did but also placements and hopefully side projects and personal work.

When you interview, you must frame these in the right way so that someone hiring knows you aren't just another graduate, that you are ready for this next phase because you have already produced good content. You can't assume they know this, you have to tell them.

And here's another unlock that I think many graduates fail to do. Don't just talk about yourself in an interview (or the application), talk about the company and how you know what they do and who their audience is. Show that you really 'get it' and you will make a better impression.

Companies are reluctant to give you honest feedback after interviews, as they want to avoid getting into trouble. That is why you get generic phrases like finding someone with more experience. But it may also be true that you are not selling your experience in the right way, or possibly, you do need to get more experience. Find some freelance work, build your portfolio more and be proactive not just reactive.

There are no easy answers to the draining job hunt but doing these things well will put you in a better position. If you need advice about this get in touch and you can read about my RAP Method for the job hunt.